Hunter Holt might be the most stubborn ex-soldier ever born, but when he’s called on to help find a lost foster kid, he jumps into action. Even if it means working with the woman who broke his heart five years ago—the woman who still haunts his dreams.

Faye Smith has spent five long years trying to get her life back on track. She knows she should’ve turned toward Hunter and not away from him. But they both had too many demons to destroy. Maybe now they’ll get another chance—and save someone else’s life too.

But first, they’ll have to stop arguing long enough to trust the Deep Ops team. Hunter was a lost boy himself once. In fact, he ran away from the exact same man, their monster of a father. Now he and Faye will have to unite to find the brother he never knew—and maybe each other.

Titles in the Deep Ops series include — Hidden – Taken (#1.5) – Fallen

Title:  Taken
Series:  Deep Ops #1.5
Author:  Rebecca Zanetti
Genre:  Romantic Suspense
Published:  April 30, 2019
Publisher:  Kensington Books – Zebra
My Rating:  4.5 stars

TAKEN is a novella length romance a bit away from the characters we’ve met in the first story — but not all that far away as Hunter and Faye spent time in the same foster home as Raider, so not as far distanced as you might think at first.  Their foster mother has called them all back together again as she is desperately searching for a boy in her care who has run away with his teacher – that boy also happens to be Hunter’s half-brother who is a complete surprise to Hunter.

At one time Faye and Hunter were in love but their pasts, decisions made unwisely and pure unadulterated stubbornness ended that relationship as Faye walked away.  Coming together to search for Jackson will give them a second chance to get it right, hopefully.

I had such a good time with TAKEN on many levels.  It’s action-packed, with a mystery to figure out, full of sizzle and second chances, and it brings back some of my favorite non-human characters as well.  What’s not to love about all that?  Oh, and if you love searching for Easter eggs then you will not be disappointed, so keep looking as you read.  I hope we get to catch up with Hunter, Faye and Jackson further on in the series, but if not I enjoyed their romance and adventures very much.

*I received an e-ARC of this novel from the publisher via NetGalley. That does not change what I think of this story.  It is my choice to leave a review giving my personal opinion about this book.*

Available in audio and for the Kindle